Never leave trash or food outside overnight, and only put trash out on trash day.

Clean trash containers regularly with ammonia or bleach to get rid of food odors.

Don't use birdfeeders in the warm months when bears are active. Wait until November through March to put out feeders.

To attract birds in the summer months, use water features, plantings and natural flowers, not birdseed.

Pick fruit before it ripens and clean up fallen fruit from your yard.

Don't leave out pet food.

Make sure no food or other smelly items are left in your car.

Burn food off of barbecue grills and clean them after each use.

If you see a bear near your home, do your best to scare it away so it feels unwelcome around people. Never approach or corner a bear.

Talk to your neighbors about being bear-responsible.

Source: Colorado Parks and Wildlife

A young bear that found its way into a Boulder neighborhood was tranquilized by wildlife rangers Tuesday morning after climbing a tree.

The bear, which officials said was a yearling, was spotted at about 8 a.m. in a backyard tree in the 1400 block of North Street. It climbed down at about 9:30 a.m. but then climbed up a second tree a few houses away, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife rangers decided to tranquilize and relocate the animal.

Casey Middle School, a few blocks away, did not close while wildlife officials dealt with the bear, but faculty members were outside making sure students went straight to their classes upon arriving and did not wander around outside.

Last week, another bear closed Eben G. Fine Park after camping out in a tree. That bear eventually came down Friday morning after the park had been closed all day Thursday.

Jennifer Churchill, a spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said rangers have been receiving lots of reports of bear sightings in Boulder over the last few days. She said this is the time of year when bears need to consume 20,000 calories a day to prepare for hibernation. Rangers say there is a food shortage, and the dry weather is not helping.

"We are concerned they will likely get into more conflicts with humans," Churchill said.

She said residents should be sure to clean up and remove anything edible from their backyards, including trash, birdfeeders and fallen fruit.

Dave Sutherland, a naturalist who has worked for Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks for 15 years, said people often do a poor job of cleaning up trash and other attractants.

"It's perennial. It's like the autumn leaves start coming down and bears start coming down and eating people's pizza boxes," Sutherland said. "People in town are frequently really bad about leaving food or edible resources out for bears."

Sutherland noted that 20,000 calories is equivalent to more than 30 Big Macs, so bears are ravenous enough to eat just about anything in the fall. That makes seemingly harmless things like birdseed and pet food an easy meal, Sutherland said.

"If we could just get people to be a lot better about locking up bear food, they'd come into town and find that it's slim pickings and then they'd go back up into the mountains and eat berries like they're supposed to," he said.

Another mistake Sutherland said many people make in urban environments is not calling wildlife officials because they believe rangers will come to hurt or kill the bear. He said there are many options wildlife officials employ before resorting to tranquilizing or killing a bear.

They include hazing the animals to make them weary of people, and using volunteer "bear sitters" to ensure a bear in an urban area does not become agitated or aggressive toward people while authorities wait for it to return to the foothills on its own.

"Calling the bear in is one of the best things you can do to ensure its safety," Sutherland said. "What we're trying to do is save the bear's life."

A yearling bear stands in a tree in the 1400 block of North Street in Boulder on Sept. 4, 2012. The bear was later tranquilized and transported to the mountains.
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